Series Recap: Angels vs. Rays

Game 1:

Game one against the Rays consisted of multiple victories. Shohei Ohtani’s MVP batting skills flourished Monday night. The two-way player homered right after Mike Trout’s home run in the bottom of the sixth. The two MVPs’ homers brought the game to 6-1. Ohtani’s second home run of the evening was a monumental dinger at 413-feet, and brought in three runners, marking Ohtani’s first-ever grand slam.

As if Ohtani’s first grand slam was not epic enough, Trout hit his 161st home run in Angels stadium, the most home runs in the Angels ballpark history.

While the Angels’ 11-3 win was a huge victory, game two was a game that will go down in Angels’ history.

Game 2:

Game two was a pitching-heavy game for the Angels. Rookie Reid Detmers threw the 12th no-hitter in Halo history. Detmers threw 108 pitches, striking out two hitters and walking one. While Detmers carried the game, the Angels’ offense did not disappoint. Mike Trout, Chad Wallach, and Anthony Rendon all homered leading to the Angels’ 12-0 win. As if the no-hitter was not exciting enough for Angels fans, Rendon’s 411-foot home run was from the left side of the batter's box and off of outfielder, Brett Phillips 54 MPH "fastball".

Game 3:

While the Angels fell to the Rays 4-2 in game three, Shane McClanahan had eleven strikeouts over the span of seven innings matching Shohei Ohtani's eleven strikeouts over six innings. Neither pitcher was involved in the final decision. In the bottom of the 8th, the Rays blew the lead when Tayler Ward homered bringing him and Tyler Wade into score. With the game tied at 2-2, the game went into extra innings. At the top of the tenth, the Rays took the lead 4-2. The Angels failed to get any hits in at the bottom of the tenth, finishing the game in a 4-2 loss.

Losing game three was detrimental to the Angels. The loss enabled the red-hot Astros to take first place in the American League West.

Image Courtesy of Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports